When can Meta employees trade Meta stock?
By Vaibhav Goel, registered financial advisor (SEC record) · Formerly a product director at DoorDash, ex-Google, ex-Microsoft · LinkedIn
Updated September 17, 2026
Meta closes its trading window at market close on the last day of the middle month of every quarter, and reopens it at market open on the second full trading day after earnings. The same rule applies to everyone, which makes the calendar predictable: for a Wednesday release in late July, the window opens that Friday and runs through the last day of August.
How the trading window works
Meta’s filed insider trading policy sets both ends of the window, and the useful thing about it is that there are no tiers: the same closing date applies to a new engineer and to a vice president.[4] That makes the calendar something you can work out in advance.
You
Directors, officers and employees, plus consultants and contractors. Trades a broker or anyone else makes on your behalf are yours to get right.
Your household
Spouses, domestic partners, dependent children and any other family members who live in the same household are covered by the policy. Family outside your household are not, unless you control their account or direct their trades, though the policy says their trades may be heavily scrutinized and suggests telling them when the closed period runs.
Entities you control
Any person, entity or account you control, or whose investment decisions you direct or influence, is treated as you.
Who the policy covers, from its own scope section. RSUs themselves count as Meta securities for its purposes.[4]
- The window closes
- At market close on the last day of the middle month of the fiscal quarter: the end of February, May, August and November.
- The window opens
- At market open on the second full trading day after Meta publicly releases earnings for that quarter.
The policy’s own worked example
Earnings released on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 28. The window opens at market open on Friday, July 30, and runs through market close on August 31.[4] Wednesday to Friday, not Wednesday to Thursday: the release day itself is not one of the two full trading days.
| Quarter | Closing date in the policy | Last session inside the window |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | February 28 | Friday, February 27 |
| Q2 | May 31 | Friday, May 29 |
| Q3 | August 31 | Monday, August 31 |
| Q4 | November 30 | Monday, November 30 |
The policy names a calendar date, not a trading day, so in 2026 the first two of them fall on a weekend and the last chance to trade is the Friday before. Arithmetic on the published rule, not a Meta announcement.[4]
Q2 2026, worked out
Meta released its second-quarter results on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.[7][10] On the policy’s own example that opens the window at market open on Friday, July 31, and it closed at market close on Monday, August 31.[4]
An example calculated from the published rule and the filing date. Your internal notices govern what you may actually do.
An open window is not permission. Material nonpublic information blocks a trade whether or not the window is open, and Meta’s compliance officer can suspend trading for some or all people at any time, need not give a reason, and may not be able to explain one.[4]
What sits outside the window, and the route through a closed one
- Vesting is not a trade. The policy does not apply to the vesting or settlement of RSUs, to Meta withholding shares for tax, or to a sell-to-cover transaction Meta mandates or that you elected earlier in an open window while not holding inside information. It does apply to any sale of the shares you actually receive.[4]
- A 10b5-1 plan, which any employee may adopt. Meta’s filed policy says personnel who are not designated persons may also adopt one, and that designated persons, directors, Section 16 officers and certain others, must trade through one even in an open window. A plan can cover shares from future RSU grants if it specifies the amount, price and dates. The plan needs Meta’s approval and has to be adopted, or changed, outside a closed period while you hold no inside information. Trading cannot begin until at least 90 days after you enter or modify it, longer for directors and Section 16 officers, a plan may run no longer than two years, you may have only one active plan and one single-trade plan per twelve months, and Schwab executes it. Meta can suspend or terminate a plan at its discretion.[5]
- Gifts. Bona fide gifts and other transfers without consideration are exempt from the policy, but if you make one during a closed period or while holding inside information, the recipient must agree not to sell before you could have.[4]
- Pre-clearance is not everyone. Board members, Section 16 officers and certain designated employees, consultants and contractors are on a Pre-Clear List and must clear every trade even in an open window; approval lasts five trading days and never past the start of a closed period. Meta notifies you if you are on it.[4]
- Off-limits without committee approval. Holding Meta stock in a margin account, pledging it as collateral, hedging, derivatives and short sales, for everyone, not just executives. A mutual fund or ETF in which Meta is 10% or more of the holdings is treated as a Meta security; broad-index funds are exempt.[4]
Three dates to put on one calendar
The vest
Units, delivery date, and how many shares will actually arrive after withholding. Estimate cash across a range of prices, not one.
The window
Closes at the end of the quarter’s middle month and reopens two full trading days after earnings. A vest that lands in a closed window is still yours; you cannot sell it until the window opens, or through an approved 10b5-1 plan.
The tax checkpoint
Withholding is taken at the statutory rate, which is often short at a high marginal rate. Revisit before a large vest.
Sources for this section
A common question
How do I check whether I can trade Meta stock today?
The rule is the calendar: the window is closed from market close on the last day of the quarter’s middle month until market open on the second full trading day after earnings. An open window is not permission, though: material nonpublic information blocks a trade regardless, and Meta can announce a special closed period without giving a reason.
Connect this to your wider plan
Meet your financial advisor
Simple Money Advisors LLC is a California state-registered investment adviser.
Vaibhav Goel
Co-founder of Simple Money · Registered financial advisor · SEC record
Investment adviser representative, registered with the State of California.
Vaibhav spent fifteen years building products at Google, DoorDash and Microsoft before becoming a licensed advisor. He works with people in tech on the whole picture, equity, taxes, investments and cash flow, as one plan rather than four.
Vaibhav Goel on LinkedInA complimentary conversation about your goals and whether our services are the right fit. No obligation.